Job Losses

An article by John W. Schoen on msnbc.com describes the unemployment figures released November 6. The grim number of people (16 million) out of a job in October meant the unemployment rate rose to 10.2 percent, which is over ten percent for the first time since 1983. As bad as this sounds, analysts say the economy is showing a slow but steady recovery. The number of jobs lost has been 188,000 in the past three months compared to 700,000 monthly earlier this year. People still wonder how the holiday spending season will turn out since consumer spending accounts for two thirds of economic activity. I think it is good that the number of people losing their jobs has slowed, but I’m unsure how much stuff people will buy in the upcoming holidays. A 10.2 percent unemployment rate can affect many people badly but I hope people can find ways to get a job to buy things without going into debt.